
Stopping brain drain will be beneficial for the country
KHAIRPUR: We often hear the term brain drain in the context of Pakistan but are all of our government institutions strong, integrated and updated enough to attract the diaspora from around the world? Can these institutions provide the required accreditations, equivalences, registrations and acceptance letters for their education acquired worldwide for Pakistani expats to return and work in their field of expertise?
Being an engineering graduate from Turkey with professional experience, I returned to Pakistan to work for the betterment of my country but encountered a distasteful situation. I was not provided with the PEC (Pakistan Engineering Council) registration number that is important for an engineer to work in Pakistan, despite the fact that our university is registered with the accreditation institutions in Turkey and Europe. All International students that have graduated from the university have easily received registration in their respective countries but it is not the case in Pakistan. Although, the HEC (Higher Education Commission) has given the equivalency letter which clearly means they accept the qualification acquired but the PEC is not accepting it. How can Pakistan diaspora resolve their education-related issues if the HEC and the PEC are not integrated? Moreover, after receiving the rejection certificate from the PEC that had neither clear reason for rejection nor a detailed procedure for resolving this issue, I lodged my complaint on Pakistan Citizen Portal as a last resort, even there the application was rejected within hours after having reached PEC officials after almost 90 days. More importantly, I am not alone. There are another 15 students with the same problem from similar universities.
I urge the authorities in PEC and the education ministry to resolve our issue to attract more skilled workers from overseas and appreciate our willingness for returning. Otherwise, the only option left for people like me will be to emigrate again and be another example of a brain drain for Pakistan. If our government is interested in stopping brain drain, it should provide incentives and encouragement to qualified people. Stopping brain drain will be beneficial for the country.
Owais ur Rehman
Published in The Express Tribune, November 20th, 2019.
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